Hollywood Talent Agent Casey Wasserman Announces Agency Sale Following Emails with Ghislaine Maxwell

Hollywood talent agent Casey Wasserman, whose clients include stars such as Chappell Roan, Ed Sheeran, and Kendrick Lamar, announced Friday that he will sell his talent and marketing agency after suggestive emails with Ghislaine Maxwell—the girlfriend of late financier Jeffrey Epstein—were exposed in recent Department of Justice document releases.

In a memo to staff, Wasserman stated he felt he had “become a distraction” to the agency’s work and that the company was impacted by his “past personal mistakes.” He wrote: “I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort.”

Wasserman added: “It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.”

The agency’s longtime executive Mike Watts will assume leadership of the company as Wasserman continues his role chairing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee.

Wasserman’s decision follows pressure from high-profile talent, including Chappell Roan, the Dropkick Murphys, and soccer legend Abby Wambach, who left the agency recently.

The agency board determined that Wasserman’s relationship with Maxwell “did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented.”

Wasserman, grandson of famed Hollywood dealmaker Lew Wasserman, founded his self-named talent agency over 20 years ago. He built it into one of the nation’s largest sports-marketing and talent-management firms through acquisitions, now employing approximately 4,000 people.

Wasserman is a major donor to the Democratic Party and has worked for years to bring the Olympics back to Los Angeles after the city hosted them in 1932 and 1984.

Epstein documents revealed that in 2002, Wasserman and his then-wife traveled on Epstein’s private jet to Africa to visit HIV/AIDS projects with Maxwell, Epstein, former President Bill Clinton, and others. An emergency physician who was on the flight told federal agents in 2020 about several young women aboard, for reasons he did not understand.

Wasserman acknowledged the 2002 trip but maintained he “never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.” He described the emails and the trip as “years before their criminal conduct came to light.”

In his memo, Wasserman expressed being “heartbroken” that his brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused the company and its clients significant hardship.